Little River man accused of murdering girlfriend made first court appearance, bond denied

A man accused of murdering his 29-year-old girlfriend, whose decomposing body was found Tuesday inside a closet in Little River, appeared in court Thursday morning for a bond hearing.

Leon Edward Collier, 45, of Little River went before Magistrate Judge Aaron Butler about 9:30 a.m. at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, and his bond was not set because a circuit court judge must set bond for a murder charge.

“Why ... I want to ask him why,” said a distraught family member when the judge asked if there was anything she wanted to tell the court during bond proceedings.

Collier is charged with murder after the body of Christian Hope Phipps, 29, of Little River was found Tuesday morning, and the cause of death is still under investigation, although the case has been ruled a homicide, according to Darris Fowler, Horry County deputy coroner.

In a voice slightly shaky and somewhat strained by emotion, another family member expressed concern about Collier being released on bail then killing himself before standing trial and facing the charges against him.

Horry County police officers were first called to investigate the incident after getting a third-person call about a suicidal man at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at 4250 Pinehurst Circle. The caller reported that the man at the residence was threatening to harm himself and making comments that he “may have hurt his girlfriend,” according to a police report.

When police arrived they found Collier in the master bedroom behind a closed door and detained him due to him “possibly having a gun and a box cutter,” the report said.

Officers, who reported a “foul odor” coming from the house, asked Collier where his girlfriend was, and Collier told police she went out shopping “earlier in the morning” and that she “didn’t have a cellphone to verify that,” police said.

“I don’t want him to get out and be able to come near family ever again...,” a family member also said at the bond hearing.

Collier seemed somber and didn’t say anything outside of only giving short answers when asked questions by the judge.

Phipps brother, Chris Williams of Myrtle Beach, was one of the family members present at proceedings and briefly spoke about his sister outside after the hearing.

“It’s hard to bear right now, really. It’s unbelievable,” he said about his sister’s murder.

Williams said he didn’t know Collier and didn’t know how or why his sister was killed.

Phipp’s children, ages 6 and 10 who were found at the residence by police Tuesday, were taken into Department of Social Services custody and placed with a family member – possibly a grandmother – according to Lt. Raul Denis, with Horry County police.

As a guardian of the children, Collier placed them in “unreasonable risk of harm” due to unsanitary home conditions and lack of food in the residence, arrest warrants said.

Collier was also charged with two counts of unlawful neglect of a child by legal custodian because of those circumstances, authorities said.

Collier will remain at J. Reuben Long Detention Center and has another court appearance scheduled for Jan. 15.

Moving forward, Williams wants to be there for his sister’s children, he said.

“…She made you smile. She made a lot of people smile,” Williams said about his murdered sister.

This story was originally published December 3, 2015 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Little River man accused of murdering girlfriend made first court appearance, bond denied."